In his first Easter as pope, Francis calls for peace in his own style

By Emanuella Grinberg, CNN

Updated 5:55 AM ET, Mon April 1, 2013

Photos: New pope's Holy Week, Easter29 photos

Pope Francis celebrates Holy Week, Easter – Swiss guards stand in St. Peter's Square before the Easter celebrations at the Vatican on Sunday, March 31. Pope Francis led his first Easter Sunday celebrations with a Mass marking the holiest day in the Christian calendar.

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Pope Francis celebrates Holy Week, Easter – Francis greets the faithful prior to his first "Urbi et Orbi" blessing from the balcony of St. Peter's Basilica after Easter Mass on Sunday.

Pope Francis celebrates Holy Week, Easter – Francis delivers the "Urbi et Orbi" blessing for Rome and the world from the balcony of St. Peter's Basilica after the Easter Mass.

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Pope Francis celebrates Holy Week, Easter – Pope Francis holds a candle during the Easter Vigil on Holy Saturday at St. Peter's Basilica on Saturday, March 30 at the Vatican. Francis is taking part in his first Holy Week as pontiff.

Pope Francis celebrates Holy Week, Easter – Pope Francis presides over the Way of the Cross procession at the Colosseum in Rome on Good Friday, March 29.

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Pope Francis celebrates Holy Week, Easter – Pope Francis blesses the audience during the Way of the Cross ceremony on Good Friday.

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Pope Francis celebrates Holy Week, Easter – Catholics attend the Way Of the Cross procession at the Colosseum on Good Friday.

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Pope Francis celebrates Holy Week, Easter – Pope Francis puts his coat on during the celebration of the Way of the Cross on Good Friday, March 29 at the Colosseum in Rome.

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Pope Francis celebrates Holy Week, Easter – In an act of reverence, Pope Francis lies on floor of St. Peter's Basilica during Mass on Good Friday, in the Vatican.

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Pope Francis celebrates Holy Week, Easter – Pope Francis kisses the foot of a prisoner at the Casal Del Marmo Youth Detention Center during the Mass of the Lord's Supper on Thursday, March 28, in Rome.

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Pope Francis celebrates Holy Week, Easter – Pope Francis washes the feet of a young offender on March 28.

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Pope Francis celebrates Holy Week, Easter – Pope Francis leaves after conducting his first Chrism Mass inside the Vatican's St. Peter's Basilica on Holy Thursday. Francis has been following Christian traditions leading up to Easter during his first Holy Week as pontiff.

Story highlights

Pope Francis continues to distinguish himself from predecessor in first Easter Mass

Catholics from around the world pack St. Peter's Square for Pope Francis' message

In his few weeks as pope, Francis has veered from tradition several times

Some questioned Francis' decision to wash the feet of two females during Holy Week

Pope Francis celebrated his first Easter Mass with departures from the style of his predecessor even as he delivered a traditional call for peace.

While it's traditional for the pope to deliver a message of peace on Easter Sunday, his direct interactions with the crowd reinforced stylistic differences between him and the austere, distant approach of Benedict XVI, observers said.

Barely two weeks since his election, the first Latin American pope celebrated Easter Mass from an outdoor altar in the presence of tens of thousands of followers in St. Peter's Square. Dressed in white, unadorned vestments consistent with his modest image, Francis celebrated Easter Mass alone, without his cardinals.

After Mass, he made his way through St. Peter's Square in an open-top popemobile free of bulletproof glass so he could stop to greet followers with handshakes, embraces and kisses.

In his first Urbi et Orbi blessing from the papal balcony, Francis called for an end to conflicts in the Middle East and the Korean Peninsula. He also called for peace for Syrians -- both those devastated by violence in the country and refugees in need of help -- and harmony in the troubled African nations of Mali and the Central African Republic.

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But while the world scrutinizes his every move, papal observers said it was too early to make judgments about how he intends to lead the Catholic Church.

"Benedict and Francis are like Pavarotti and Domingo -- the style is different but the songs are the same," said Raymond Arroyo, news director and lead anchor of EWTN Global Catholic Radio Network.

What's clear for now, Arroyo said, is that Francis "is intent on bringing the message of the church out to the world," as he demonstrated Sunday throughout Holy Week.

When he told his priests Thursday "to go look for the lost sheep," he added that when they come back, they "better smell like those sheep," Arroyo said.

"He wants them amid the people in the muck of life."

The pope was elected almost three weeks ago, succeeding Benedict XVI. A former Argentinian cardinal, he became the first non-European pope of the modern era, the first from Latin America, the first Jesuit and the first to assume the name Francis.

Three days ago, on Holy Thursday, he went to a youth detention center in Rome -- rather than the city's chief cathedral -- and washed the feet of a dozen young detainees.

Among the group at the Casal del Marmo were two females and two Muslims.

The pontiff poured water over the young offenders' feet, wiped them with a white towel and kissed them. In his homily, given to about 50 young offenders, he said everyone should help one another.

"As a priest and as a bishop, I should be at your service. It is a duty that comes from my heart," he said.

The act of foot-washing is part of the Christian tradition that mirrors Jesus' washing of his disciples' feet.

Francis' decision to include two females -- an Italian and an Eastern European -- in the ceremony disturbed some traditionalists, who believe the 12 people should reflect the 12 male apostles.

The Vatican Press Office responded Friday to "questions and concerns" related to the pope's washing the young offenders' feet, calling it a "simple and spontaneous gesture of love, affection, forgiveness and mercy."

If anything, Francis' outreach to women, along with his emphasis on "reinvigorating the Christian faith" in parts of the world "where secularism has the upper hand" continues the tradition of Benedict and popes before him, said author and theologian Matthew Bunson, a senior fellow of the St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology.

"That hallmark of humility and simplicity are his personal expressions as pope," Bunson said. "There is something wonderfully new about him, but he's also maintaining the teachings of the church in wonderful continuity with the popes who've gone before him."